Flooding in Thailand

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze (Isaiah 43:1-3).

Dear friends and family,

We very much appreciate each of you and thank God that you’re in our lives. Your prayer support, financial assistance, encouragement and love are real blessings to us. Today we have a special prayer request for you.

Maybe you’ve heard about the flooding that’s been happening in Thailand during the past weeks. It’s the worst flooding that Thailand has experienced in more than 50 years. At least 60 of the 77 provinces have been significantly impacted by flooding during the past two months. Nearly 300 people have been killed and 8.2 million more have been affected. The flooding is already causing a big problem for the Thai economy.

The flood waters have been moving steadily from the northern provinces toward Bangkok. Just 40 miles north of here some areas have had water nearly 10 feet deep. A few hours ago we received reports that flood waters are less than 25 miles from us. Within the next few days flooding is expected to reach our part of Bangkok. Our home, the Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation office, Concordia Into Light Lutheran Church, the Into Light Center where our English outreach program is held (and where our two long term volunteers, Robin McCoy and David Pfeifer live) and Boom’s Lutheran Hour Ministries building are all located in this area.

As a precaution, we’re trying to move furniture, equipment and supplies from the first floor to the second floor of each building. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to move some items, like refrigerators, washers and dryers and large furniture pieces…not to mention cars.

Please pray for the large number of Thai people who are suffering because of these floods. Many have lost their jobs and their homes. Also, please pray for God’s grace, protection and provision for all of us here during the next two weeks. Thanks. As soon as possible, we’ll send you an update.

God bless you,

Boom and Dennis

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

Related

2 responses to Flooding in Thailand

Since writing the above message late last night, the news has gotten worse. As of noon today (Friday) the water has risen some more, but still isn’t a serious problem. However, we just heard that the government is planning to open one of the major dams north of Bangkok, because of the excessive amount of water behind it.

The water that’s released from the dam will start to reach Bangkok by tomorrow (Saturday)afternoon and evening. It’s predicted that virtually all of Bangkok will then be flooded. So, Boom and I, her staff and the two long term volunteers (Robin McCoy and David Pfeifer) from LCMS World Mission who are working with us here will need to make some critical decisions within the next few hours.

Although many of you won’t receive this until after you wake up tomorrow morning, please pray. Pray that God will guide us to make the best decisions on when and where to evacuate and that we’ll be able to accomplish that. As the water continues to rise, transportation becomes a severe problem.

Virtually any place we choose to go in Bangkok will be facing many of the same problems. Concerns about electricity, running water and sanitation become priorities.

We appreciate your prayers very much. In situations like this it becomes vividly clear how our lives are in God’s hands. And, that’s good news. We trust that God will be with us, that he’ll guide and protect us. And we pray that he will accomplish his purposes in all of this and that his name will somehow be glorified.

Dear family, friends and supporters,
Thank you very much for your prayers and your messages of encouragement. We really appreciate your support and partnership.
God has been answering your prayers and has been very good to us. Not only has he kept us safe, but he also has kept us dry. We’ve had no rain for the past week and the flood waters have actually gone down in our area. Several days ago some water came into our yard, but didn’t touch our house. The water rose to the edge of the parking lot for the building that houses the church and English center (where long term volunteers Robin McCoy and David Pfeifer have their apartments), but didn’t reach the building. At its highest the flood was blocked by the sand bags in front of the Lutheran Hour office, but didn’t enter the building.
Although the flood is 3-5 feet deep in some areas of Bangkok, the water has passed by and around our area without causing us any harm. Simple dirt dikes have been built along the sides of the canal that’s near us, so it hasn’t overflowed since last week. Even when they opened the dam north of Bangkok, that excess water didn’t cause any problem for us.
We thank and praise God for his continuing grace and mercy to us in keeping us safe. But, we know that many people have been evacuated from their homes and others have lost possessions. More than 375 people have died. Please continue to pray with us for God’s blessing on all the people who are suffering because of the floods in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand.
The next 5 days will be a time of high tides. As the ocean level rises each month, the water pushes inland, up the river and the canals. When this happens this weekend, it will be much more difficult for the flood waters to escape to the sea. This will cause the flood waters to rise again in Bangkok. Peak high tide will arrive Saturday evening. We’re already beginning to see this effect in some parts of the metropolitan area. More people were evacuated from districts near us yesterday and this morning and are being housed in temporary shelters in schools and government buildings. The tides are expected to be lower again by this Tuesday, 1 November. Government officials expect that the flood waters in Bangkok and throughout Thailand will continue to recede next week.
The government declared 27-31 October holidays in flooded areas. This means that government workers and other people don’t need to think about going to work. Not only will this further reduce the amount of traffic in Bangkok, but it also gives opportunity for many people to leave the flooded places and return to their hometowns in non-flooded areas of the country. Some hotels in the north have reduced their rates to make it easier for residents in flooded areas to consider leaving Bangkok until after the high tides this weekend.
Even the larger grocery stores are starting to have trouble getting deliveries to restock their shelves, so more and more items are not available. This will likely continue to be a problem for several weeks, until the flood waters have disappeared.
Please continue to pray that God will keep the water away from our area, that the water level will not increase again and that the flooding will end soon.
God bless you,
Dennis and Boom